Testing Traditions: R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta's Experiments on Birds and Ants (Chullin 57b)
R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta’s chicken experiment
R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta was known for his investigative nature1 and often used empirical experiments to challenge R' Yehuda's views.
R' Yehuda claimed that a bird without feathers (נוצה) was not kosher (treifa).
To test this, R' Shimon had a hen without its down, placed it in a warm oven, and covered it with an apron of coppersmith (טרסיים). The hen's feathers grew back more abundantly than before.2
אמרו עליו על רבי שמעון בן חלפתא, שעסקן בדברים היה
והיה עושה דבר להוציא מלבו של רבי יהודה
שהיה רבי יהודה אומר: אם ניטלה הנוצה פסולה
ותרנגולת היתה לו לרבי שמעון בן חלפתא שניטלה נוצה שלה,
והניחה בתנור,
וטלה עליה במטלית של טרסיים,
וגידלה כנפיים האחרונים יותר מן הראשונים
[...]
They said about R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta that he was a researcher of various matters,
and he would act to counter the opinion of R' Yehuda,
as R' Yehuda would say: If the down covering a bird’s body was removed, it is a tereifa and unfit for consumption, as stated in the mishna.
And R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta had a hen whose down was removed,
and he placed it in an oven, a warm place,
and he covered it with a coppersmiths’ [tarsiyyim] apron,
and its new, i.e., rehabilitated, wings grew even more feathers than the original wings.
[...]
R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta’s ant experiment
The Talmud inquires why R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta was called the "Researcher of Matters" (עסקן בדברים).
Rav Mesharshiyya explains that it stems from an episode where R' Shimon investigated whether ants indeed have no king, as stated by the verse in Proverbs 6:6–8. To test this, he observed ants during the summer. Knowing ants avoid heat, he shaded their hole with his cloak. When an ant emerged and noticed the shade, he marked it. The ant returned to inform the others, who then came out to work. When R' Shimon removed the cloak, exposing them to the sun, the ants killed the marked ant for lying to them.
R' Shimon concluded that ants have no king, reasoning that if they did, they would require a royal decree (הרמנא דמלכא) to execute one of their own.3
מאי עסקן בדברים?
א"ר משרשיא: דכתיב (משלי ו, ו):
"לך אל נמלה, עצל,
ראה דרכיה, וחכם
אשר אין לה קצין שוטר ומושל
תכין בקיץ לחמה"
אמר: איזיל איחזי, אי ודאי הוא דלית להו מלכא
אזל בתקופת תמוז
פרסיה לגלימיה אקינא דשומשמני
נפק אתא חד מינייהו
אתנח ביה סימנא
על אמר להו: נפל טולא
נפקו ואתו
דלייה לגלימיה, נפל שמשא
נפלו עליה, וקטליה
אמר: שמע מינה, לית להו מלכא
דאי אית להו, הרמנא דמלכא לא ליבעו?!
The Gemara asks: From what episode did R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta earn the title: Researcher of matters?
Rav Mesharshiyya said: He saw that it is written:
“Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise;
which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
provides her bread in the summer” (Proverbs 6:6–8).
R' Shimon ben Ḥalafta said: I will go and see if it is correct that they have no king.
He went in the season of Tammuz, i.e., summer.
Knowing that ants avoid intense heat, he spread his cloak over an ant hole to provide shade.
One of the ants came out and saw the shade.
R' Shimon placed a distinguishing mark on the ant.
It went into the hole and said to the other ants: Shade has fallen.
They all came out to work.
R' Shimon lifted up his cloak, and the sun fell on them.
They all fell upon the first ant and killed it.
He said: One may learn from their actions that they have no king;
as, if they had a king, would they not need the king’s edict [harmana] to execute their fellow ant?!
עסקן בדברים - an idiom; literally: “doer of things”.
In modern ornithology, it's well established that birds can regrow feathers after they have been lost due to molting, injury, or other causes. See Moulting - Wikipedia > “In birds”.
Feathers provide insulation, so a bird losing its feathers (especially in large quantities) might be at risk due to cold or other environmental factors. However, under the right conditions, such as being kept warm (like in the oven analogy in the passage), the feathers can indeed regrow.
Comparison with modern scientific knowledge:
1. Ant Behavior and Leadership:
In modern entomology, it is well established that ants do have a highly organized social structure, but it is not based on a king or a single leader. Ant colonies are typically structured around a queen whose primary role is reproduction. The queen does not direct or control the daily activities of the colony; instead, ants communicate and coordinate their actions through pheromones and other chemical signals, working collectively rather than following commands from a central authority.
2. Ant Communication and Response to Threats:
Ants do communicate, primarily through chemical signals, especially pheromones. When an ant encounters food, danger, or other significant environmental changes, it releases pheromones that guide the actions of other ants. The Talmudic account suggests that the first ant communicated the presence of shade to the others, which prompted them to emerge.
3. Shade and Ant Behavior:
The behavior of ants in response to heat and shade is accurately portrayed. Ants are indeed sensitive to temperature and often avoid intense heat. Providing shade over an ant hole could lead ants to come out, as the shaded area might be perceived as more suitable for foraging.
4. Execution of the First Ant:
The idea that ants would kill a fellow ant for lying to them does not have a basis in entomological science. Ants do engage in aggressive behaviors, especially when defending the colony or competing for resources, but this aggression is not directed at individual ants within their own colony based on perceived mistakes or failures.